who would've guessed?

who would have guessed that lubbock, texas is the town where it all takes place?

i would have guessed new york, chicago maybe. but lubbock? lubbock! luckily my hotel has an avenue q address, too. or else i might not have survived this jaunt out here. similar to the fed ex plane that crashed a few hours after my plane skidded to the terminal. now i wonder where those puppets have run off to?

in the background::roxette:the big L

i love a parade

the best thing seen on facebook today came from the profile page of a friend of mine:

d the volleyball player "is wondering if anyone else would like to help plan george bush's welcome home parade past the school book depository"

i offered to bring the champagne.

in the background::nancy sinatra:bang bang

don't cry for me...

because i am going here in march.

with him.

we're ticking items off of 'the list.'

in the background::madonna:don't cry for me argentina

amenities....

i'm glad to see that the current occupants of the white house have found another house to move into. predicatably, this house is red, in keeping with party lines. i was surprised to see that there wasn't a pool, but not surprised to see that it does come with a wet bar. thankfully, so they wouldn't have to have one installed, since it's been reported that the big dub has started drinking again. oh, and in case you want to keep up with how it appreciates or depreciates, officially, you can see it here.

in the background::crowded house:our house

guess what last weekend was

no! not xmas. it was the annual halloween block party.
and guess who the orangepaperbike dressed up as?
a very young, very svelte kris kringle.

oh and for the fashionistas out there who may stumble upon this site by accident, belt buckles are BIG this season.
you heard me!
one more thing, in case you run into any children who ask, because i did, my beard doesn't turn white until december, and i don't get fat until thanksgiving. that's my story and i'm sticking to it.

in the background::dan fogelberg:same old lang syne

deflated

sometimes, by the time thursday ends, you just feel a little...

in the background::john paul young:love is in the air

alphabet soup

today i passed another [critical?] exam that my employer required me to pass before the end of the year.

this one was for green building practises.

on the down side, passing another exam added six more letters after my name. starting tomorrow, the letters that follow my name on my business card will be RA, NCARB, and now LEED®AP. add to that REV, which sometimes precedes my name, and it means the titles are longer than my actual name.

and yes, you read it right, i am an ordained minister. i'll be performing my first ceremony april eleventh.

in the background::toni basil:shopping from a to z

i've grown weary...already

the olympics haven't even seen one week since the beginning, and yet i am already so tired of that media whore michael phelps. and the media is feeding into it. they have essentially turned the beijing olympiad into michael's swimming show. i've grown weary of that.

of course, it was jason lezak who brought the gold medal home. yet he gets no thanks. and, to top it off [i wonder if he is a top?] he is a hundred times more sexy than phelps could ever hope to be... i'm moist just thinking about him.

in the background::lolita pop:hey winner

getting the bugs out. oh, and geckos too!

i made a commitment this evening, well, okay the commitment was only to myself really, but that's beside the point. anyway, my re-commitment is that starting this evening, i am getting rid of the bugs. the bugs that are keeping oranepaperbike v2.0 from blogging properly. starting tonight, more orangepaperbike, more often.

of course, no sooner had i made that commitment to be rid of the bugs, when i walked into the bathroom and was startled by not one two three teensy-weensy geckos. so, not only do i have to get rid of the bugs [and that includes the giant texas-sized waterbugs that sometimes break into the house] but now geckos too. and i don't think they were looking to sell me insurance, either.

on your mark. get set. go!

in the background::roxette:goodbye to you

metamorphosis:: dining room

yeah, i admit i've been absent from this here blog thingy lately. but if you could only see what i've been involved in... fine, you can see what i've been involved with: the house. i finally got 2 rooms to the 90% mark. the guest bedroom/ office and dining room are almost there.

dining room before:

dining room after. well, almost after...still a few touches to finish:

tonight i changed out a few of the air conditioner vents and made an amazing discovery. no, not a million dollars in pre-world was two bills. i saw this in one of the air ducts:

it's an antique license plate. i can't tell if it's just wedged into the duct, or if it's actually in use to divert air to another section of the duct. either way, it will make a great dinner story about the house, which continues to hold me fascinated. don't worry, you're all invited to dinner.

in the background::mac sample:house inspector

happy smurfday

the smurfs turned me gay when i was a kid.
and now i find out those fuckers are turning fifty!

what the..? they always said they were "my age."

fucking pedophiles. especially that hot muscle papasmurf.

woof! smurf!

in the background::new order:blue monday